“We are critical friends of Labour”: City St George’s historian Dr Lise Butler named co-editor of Renewal • City St George's, University of London

Relaunched leftwing journal Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy makes the case for an ideologically confident social democracy.

By City St George's Press Office (City St George's Press Office), Published Wednesday, 11^th June 2025

Dr Lise Butler, Senior Lecturer in Modern History at City St George’s, University of London, is one of the new co-editors of the political journal Renewal, alongside Jack Jeffrey, Morgan Jones, and Dr David Klemperer.

Renewal was founded in 1992, but relaunched in May under a new publisher, the pressure group Compass, with a new look and editorial team.

It celebrated its relaunch on June 3 at Clerkenwell’s George and Monkey Pub, in a lively event attended by politicians, journalists, activists, writers and academics.

Dr Lise Butler and former Labour Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds at the Renewal relaunch party.

The journal’s relaunch issue includes interviews with the Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham and American writer John Ganz, articles by University of Cambridge politics scholar Professor Andrew Gamble and British economist Ann Pettifor, and more.

Dr Butler specialises in the history of leftwing politics in Britain and spoke about the connection between the journal and the University, and how it can be a vehicle for real-world change. She said:

This is a time when social democrats need to think hard about what we value, how we convey those values, where we need to evolve, and which red lines we need to draw.
For over thirty years Renewal has been a place for social democrats to debate, argue, and refine their ideas, and it’s obvious that this space is needed now more than ever.
As one of the journal’s new co-editors, I hope to build on and strengthen the connection between the journal and the Department of International Politics and School of Policy and Global Affairs as an outlet for policy engagement and impact.

Dr Butler believes there is a new opportunity to engage with leftwing politics and policy. She explained:

Social democratic parties across Europe have experienced declining electoral success for several decades, and now face major challenges from the insurgent far-right.
We need to find new ways to communicate social democratic ideas that resonate with the public, and position social democracy as an ideology that can address the cost-of-living crisis, climate crisis, and threats to international security represented by the Trump presidency and changing global order.

The importance of the relaunch of Renewal comes at a time when the Labour Party has returned to power, after 14 years of Conservative rule.

Dr Lise Butler provided commentary about the Labour general election, how Labour sits in relation to the Conservative Party, and how they are handling their recent return to power.

“At Renewal, we see ourselves as ‘critical friends’ of the Labour government,” she said. “We do not hesitate to call out the government on its missteps, but also aim to enrich the intellectual ecosystem around Labour and highlight where it could go further.”

Jeevun Sandher, Labour MP for Loughborough, spoke at the launch.

Labour MP Jeevun Sandher delivers a speech at the Renewal relaunch party.

“We do need ideas to govern," he said. "We could talk a lot about the things we need to fix in this country but without an idea to bind them together, without a vision, we are left with a laundry list that doesn't move people and doesn't guide the narrative going forward.”

The relaunch event was sponsored by City St George’s, King’s College London, and Compass. Other notable attendees included former Shadow Chancellor Anneliese Dodds MP, Keir Mather MP, Alistair Strathern MP, Luke Murphy MP, The Guardian journalist Andy Beckett, and thinktank representatives from the Institute of Public Policy Research and Compass.

Previous editions of Renewal have featured pieces written by City St George academics, including Dr Sahil Dutta, Dr Konstantin Vössing and Professor Jo Littler. Its previous advisory board included numerous frontbench MPs such as Ed Miliband, Rachel Reeves and Lisa Nandy.

Byline: This article was written by Amandeep Chandan, Communications Assistant in City St George’s Press Office team.

Hashtags